The Olsens: November 2013

Warning: LOOOONG post. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. A big THANK YOU to Angie Rosier for compiling all the information from the hospital and writing part of this story!

Birth Story Time. I LOVE birth stories. There's just something amazing about them. Not only the fact that God is bringing life into this world, but the power of a birthing woman. The love and dedication of the parents. The care of the support team. It's incredible. Probably one the most unique and life changing experiences I'll ever have.

Isaiah's birth was perfect. Exactly how I envisioned it, if not more perfect. God is good.

We were expecting our second baby, a second boy around the beginning of November. His medical ‘due date’ was on or around October 30, 2013. I was 9 days late with Elijah, so I was expecting to be late again with this baby. We decided on the due ‘time’ of the first week of November. I believe I told my sister an estimated day of November 8^th. Little did I know how right I was! I’ve heard that most second time moms go a little earlier, so I was partially expecting to have him maybe closer to my due date than last time. Well the 30^th came and went and I remained patiently pregnant (most of the time!). I originally wanted him to be born late. My reasoning? I wanted his birthday to be at least 4 weeks after Elijah’s (read 2 paychecks). Planning ahead.

For care I chose to work with my midwives again, this time at Valley OB, Dena who caught Elijah and of course Angie, my doula. I saw Dena pretty much the whole pregnancy, except one visit with Sue and two with Jennifer. We also met with Angie once to practice some counter pressure and talk about what we were hoping for the birth. I prepared for labor by listening to my Hypnobabies scripts, reading The Bradley Method and incorporating those scripts, reading some special bible verses and listening to worship music.

Pre-labor

At my 40 week appointment, I was already progressed to a 3 cm and 80% effaced. Now to me, numbers and due dates mean nothing, but at least it’s progress. I was encouraged. The night of November 1^st I was awake on and off again with random contractions, mainly in my thighs. They stopped around 6:30 a.m. (I think due to a dream I had). I didn’t get too excited. The pre-labor happened like this last time too. On November 2^nd, I realized that my precious little baby-who was positioned perfectly changed to a posterior position overnight. The next week I worked really hard on baby positioning using spinning babies techniques and some exercises that Angie taught me. I completely avoided the couch, crawled around on my hands and knees instead of walking, did so many cat/cow/child’s poses that Tyler made fun of me, inverses, and more. A few trips to the chiropractor helped as well.

In order to try to naturally get labor going I was drinking plenty of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, taking Evening Primrose Oil, and even using some Clary Sage oils. I was going to try for a natural labor again and at this point I started to get a little freaked out. Luckily some great friends on my BabyWise board prayed for me and talked me through it where I was ready for birth emotionally.

November 4^th I had another chiropractic adjustment where he adjusted my pubic bone. Hopefully this would help the baby have a little bit more room to move in my pelvis. That evening I had a few more contractions at night and a lot of other ‘pain’ from him trying to move into place. Tyler, Elijah, and I went on quite a few walks around the mall and around the neighborhood. Elijah became quite obsessed with our mall routine.

At 41 weeks, November 6^th, my numbers remained the same at 3 cm and 80%. I had a non stress test and everything looked fine. The baby was ROA-yay! All that positioning work did something. I spoke with my MW about not wanting an induction until 42 weeks and she agreed. We scheduled another NST for Friday morning (the 8^th) and she wanted me to think about having my membranes stripped. I really wanted an intervention free labor and birth this time around so I was hesitant. I believe that the more your body goes into labor on it’s own, the more you can trust it to be doing what it needs to. However I DID NOT want an induction, and this was a good step in the direction of going induction free. My option was Thursday morning (the next day) or the morning of the NST if I wanted. I thought about it and Tyler and I decided Friday morning if nothing was happening by then. I did the gutter walking for a long time that evening trying to help the baby get a little lower in the pelvis. Elijah loved the walks to the railroad tracks and back. I started having really light and short contractions every 15 minutes or so, but they stopped that night.

Thursday, November 7^th came and all day I felt a little ‘crampy’. No contractions though, just that sore feeling you get from cramps. Dena called to schedule my NST and membrane strip for the next morning at 10 a.m. I started thinking that tomorrow could be the day. I also wanted to plan something fun that morning before the appointment. Quiet time at Starbucks? Breakfast with Elijah?

Late that afternoon a few contractions came and went, but nothing too serious. I joked with Tyler when he got home around 6:30 that I felt like I’d been in labor all day. After Elijah went to bed I went to Juice and Java for a latte and Kohls for some last minute shopping. On the trip I started having some mild contractions. I timed them to be about 15 minutes apart. On the drive home I spoke with my sister on the phone and remember a few contractions that were decently powerful and thought I could actually pull over and try to concentrate through these…but driving and talking on the phone doesn’t leave a lot of room for closing your eyes and relaxing. I got home and told Tyler about the contractions, but neither of us was too concerned. Tyler went to bed and I sat down to do the budget. The contractions were about 10 minutes apart and I was practicing my ‘relaxation’ through them. May as well make them good for something-right? Again, not too excited yet.

Active Labor

I went to bed about 11 p.m. and that’s when things started happening. Around 11:40, after a few consistent contractions about 6-7 minutes apart I decided to text Angie. At 12:10 a.m. I timed a few and they came in at around 5.5 minutes apart and 60-70 seconds long. Looking back I probably should have realized those were the numbers I was looking for as my signal to head into the hospital. I was managing so well though, and we decided I should try to get some rest (or dare I say sleep), and I would call when I felt more ready. The next hour and a half I worked through each contraction fairly easily while listening to my Hypnobabies scripts (and thinking my Bradley scripts). I slept a little in between. Around 1:30 I started to get really shaky through the contractions and at 1:40 I decided to wake Tyler up for some help and counter pressure. Tyler woke up and started helping me. He decided he should maybe pack his hospital bag at this time as well as help with the other bags. I finished packing my bags while getting ready. I wanted to put on a little bit of makeup and straighten my hair. Tyler made coffee and cinnamon rolls. As you can tell, we thought we had a long road ahead of us. I would stop at each contraction, call for Tyler, and lean on something. I leaned on the counter, sat backwards on the toilet, sat on the birth ball while leaning over the chair, or even on my hands and knees. I was still feeling shaky and even a little nauseated (transition anyone??).

At about 2:00 a.m. the contractions started to lose their consistency. They would be right on top of each other and really short, and then they would be 6 minutes apart and really long and hard. They were anywhere from 30-70 seconds long and came between 1.5-7 minutes apart. If I had a long break, I knew a big one was coming. Since you’re looking for consistency we didn’t think it was time yet. Looking back I realized that this could have been my ‘break’ between transition and pushing. While I was sitting backwards on the toilet I felt a movement-almost like a pop deep in my pelvis. I swear it was the baby’s head moving into place. After this point, whenever Tyler did counter-pressure on my back I had the irresistible urge to push! After about 10 minutes of this feeling I started getting worried. About the baby coming? No oddly enough. With Elijah I had an early urge to push which lead to quite a few interventions. I heard it can happen with your second baby too, so I started getting worried this was it. The pushing urge was very hard to work and relax through, so I had Tyler stop the counter pressure. It seriously felt like he was pushing the baby down and out.

I decided to call Angie at this point; it was about 2:45 a.m. With Elijah, because of the early urge to push, it led to an Epidural and Pitocin in order for me to relax and progress and avoid a C-section. Honestly, even though I wanted to go natural, I thought if this was all going to happen over again, I just wanted to go in and get the epidural now instead of waiting another 12 hours. It’s funny because I was easily working through the contractions-even in transition. What was really hard was resisting that urge to push! We talked to Angie and even though the contractions weren't consistent she encouraged us to go in to at least get an idea of what was happening. She was going to head down and meet us. While I was finishing talking with Angie, Tyler called his mom Sandy at 2:49 a.m. to come over and watch Elijah. I’m not sure what inspired me to do it, but I told Tyler to tell her to hurry. I think all of a sudden I realized that it was time.

As soon as Sandy walked in that door, we walked out to the car. I remember her wanting to chat a little, but this laboring woman couldn’t be stopped. Even though I think I somehow knew it was time, I had no idea how close we were! We left the house at 3:20 a.m. I had about 3-4 contractions during the 10 minute drive to the hospital (of course they had to be when the car was doing a stop and go motion, not on the smooth freeway). Tyler pulled up to the Women’s Center doors just before 3:30 a.m. I had a contraction in the waiting room and a nurse let me in right after. They gave me room #107 (the natural room). I was so happy to get it because it had a nice big tub to labor in-which I didn’t get a chance to use. I went straight to the room and changed into my nightgown-the same one I wore with Elijah. At 3:32 a.m. the nurse checked me and I was only at 8 cm and effacement was complete at 100%. I was a little disappointed because I knew how much longer it could be. Dena wasn’t on call yet (not until 8 a.m.), however she was going to special me. The nurses couldn’t get a hold of her and they called Sue to head on over.

I sat on the birth ball, leaned on the bed, and zoned out. I had about 3-4 very powerful pushing contractions. Tyler was there the whole time rubbing my back and reminding me to relax. The nurses started to get a little worried about me pushing on the ball and told me to stop pushing. I told them I couldn’t stop it. They forced me to get on the bed so they can at least check me. If I wasn’t complete they wanted me to stop pushing-ha-right! I got back on the bed and noticed quite a few more nurses and an OB was there. At 3:42 Dr. Broberg checked me and I was 10 cm and ready to push-only 10 minutes after arriving at the hospital. Tyler called Angie to see where she was and let her know the baby was ready to be born. Angie was driving (speeding) but was still about 25 minutes out. The midwife, Sue, was also on the road but had not arrived at the hospital yet. So, Dr. Broberg came in, just in case Sue didn’t make it in time. Luckily he was at the hospital with another delivery. Right after he checked me the bag of water released. They thought they saw a little meconium but nothing they were concerned about.

I asked the OB if I could push in a different position. He was so great and said "Sure, which one?" At this point I really missed Angie because I had no idea and wasn’t thinking straight. I responded with a whiny “I don’t know!” I remembered my friend Julie just had her baby naturally on her hands and knees, so I chose that one. I turned over on my hands and knees and started pushing. A short but intense pushing stage began and I worked so hard. The staff was so good to work with me. There had not been time to get the monitors on but the nurses checked the baby’s heart rate with a Doppler.

I’ll take this break in the narrative to tell you how amazing natural birth is. I felt everything. Every inch that my baby moved down the birth canal I knew about it. It's such an empowering feeling. I know I can do anything now. I felt his head start to crown during pushing, and I felt it go back up while I rested. I knew exactly where he was and how much further he had to go. It was incredible. I don’t even think it was painful, just a lot of work. I remember hearing the nurses encourage me, and I remember Tyler being right by my side. The last contraction I felt him come so close to coming out, go back in, and then I felt the head emerge. One more push and he was out. After just 10 minutes of pushing, my Isaiah was born at 3:52 a.m. on November 8^th, 2013.

Isaiah

20 minutes after arriving at the hospital I was holding my new baby boy. He weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and 19.5 inches long; smaller than Elijah. On his way out he had a bowel movement, which is referred to as terminal meconium, but he was just fine. I turned over immediately over as Dr. Broberg was rubbing him off. Tyler tried to stop him so we could rub him more gently, but they insisted they had to make him cry. Such a good daddy! We asked Dr. Broberg if we can let the umbilical cord finish pulsating and he was happy to agree. He was very supportive of what we wanted and waited almost 10 minutes to clamp the cord. They handed my baby to me right away. He was perfect.

I looked up after he was born and saw all the nurses and staff around me. I felt like I was in such a zone during labor and birth that I had no idea what was going on around me. The first thing I said was “I didn’t get to use the tub!” I was pretty sad about that. The nurses all laughed. I apologized to the nurses for not listening to them, or even knowing they were there! I was also sad I didn’t get to use any essential oils or listen to my worship music. However, I’m not going to complain about a fast labor and birth! I’m honestly just happy we didn’t have a freeway baby. Sue arrived and helped Tyler cut the cord and helped deliver the placenta at 4:05 a.m. She also repaired a second-degree tissue separation. Angie arrived at 4:15 and found Tyler holding a baby boy in his arms just in time to help me through the repair and the uterus massage.

He had wonderful Apgar scores of 8 and 9. My estimated blood loss was low at 200 ccs and Sue agreed not to use Pitocin. We weren't sure what his name would be. Perhaps it would be Isaiah…or Jimmy-- Tyler teased. By 4:40 he was latching very well and sucking like a champ. Tyler was doing paperwork to get me admitted to the hospital, now that I'd had the baby. Sue remained in the room and visited until just after 5:00 a.m. We already felt that this baby looked similar, but also a lot different than Elijah, he had lots of dark hair. By 5:30 Angie helped me eat some yogurt as Tyler held the baby. The hospital staff had all been very wonderful.

Before Angie left, she did another interview with us. Some of the things Tyler said about this experience are, "Making coffee and cinnamon rolls. Going crazy with the posture stuff over the last two days." I said "Happy that I did more positions. I felt bad waking Tyler up. He made coffee and cinnamon rolls. Pushing wasn’t too bad. I just felt like I couldn't push hard enough."

Post labor went so different this time, so amazing. Isaiah stayed with us the whole time. I got to nurse within the first hour of him being born. He got a bath a few hours later in our room, I took a shower, and we moved up to a room in the pediatric ward (all the postpartum rooms were full until a few hours later). We slept on and off until about 8:00 a.m. At about 8:10 a.m. we started calling family letting them know about the new baby’s arrival. We didn’t have a name yet, but figured we could decide a little later.

We decided to sleep a little longer before we had visitors. Tyler left around 3 p.m. to go get Elijah. We were so excited for him to meet his baby brother. At about 4 p.m. Elijah and Tyler walked in. Elijah was hesitant of the hospital room, but not of his new baby brother. He loved him right away. He was so excited! He said “A baby! I want to touch it!” We gave Elijah his gift from his baby brother and enjoyed our new family of 4. Right before people showed up, we decided to name our new baby boy Isaiah, which means ‘The Lord is my salvation’. Bama’s family showed up first at 5:30 p.m., followed shortly by my mom and Dakota, and Tyler’s family and Grandma Gillman. It was so fun sharing our new little one with our family. We notified the rest of our friends and family of Isaiah’s arrival. Tyler spent the night at home with Elijah while I stayed in the hospital with Isaiah. Grandma and Grandpa Olsen, Abby, and our friends Brittany and James came to visit us Saturday morning. We were discharged that evening and spent our first night at home.

Everything went perfectly. Timpanogos Hospital was great. I was sad Angie and Dena weren’t able to make it, but Dr. Broberg was the perfect OB for us(the next day, Angie spoke to another doula that knew him and she confirmed that he's really good with natural patients-praise the Lord-God knew we would need him) . Thanks to Angie we got a lot of the details we were missing from the hospital for this birth story! Things went too fast for me to take note of anything. Tyler was an incredible birth partner. He was amazing as I was laboring at home and being my steadiness at the hospital. I couldn’t believe everything went so well. I couldn’t believe I gave birth naturally. I was seriously on a birth high forever. Even now 6 weeks later when I think about I get giddy (and I’ll tell anyone about it!). Tyler and I both trusted my body, God, and our sweet baby boy to all work together. We have been so blessed.